Craig Hansen

[a700hitter]

I would think they have to move him to AAA soon, and if he can similarly dominate at AAA his stay will be very short.

[jsinger121]

Don't expect a promotion soon. Hansen is still working on his pitches down there.

[ksushi]

But he got the record?

 

No reason to rush him. They have him there so that he can hone that change which will give him another dimension to his game. We already know he can handle AAA and pretty much the majors. Its not a question of seeing where he can pitch, we saw him dominate the majors, we saw him dominate ST, now its a matter of bolstering his arsenal a little bit. Patience.

[jsinger121]

It looks like Hansen is going get promoted to Pawtucket

 

http://www.projo.com/redsox/content/projo_20060427_27rsoxjo.f4c2cb9.html

 

The Pawsox website has Hansen called up and Charlie Zink sent to Portland.

[a700hitter]

I would think they have to move him to AAA soon, and if he can similarly dominate at AAA his stay will be very short.

Call it telepathy, luck or whatever you want. I think this spells the end for Riske, especially since they realize that Foulke can get lefties out, and that supposedly was Riske's forte. I think Hansen's stay in AAA will be short if he dominates there like he did at AA -- maybe a week or 10 days. JSinger, be careful about disagreeing with me again.

[jsinger121]

I doubt he will be promoted to boston within 10 days. The sox will wait until both Riske and Seanez fail and with Seanez thats looking like the case but they will see with Riske once he comes off the DL whenever that is.

[ksushi]

I doubt Hansen will be promoted in 10 days. I give it till after the all-star break. Hopefully not though, i like Hansen in the minors for a year.

[Teddyballgame10]

Way to early he hasnt even spent a whole year in the minots

[ksushi]

He might not ever spend a whole year in the minors, but I'd like him to.

[example1]

I doubt he will be promoted to boston within 10 days. The sox will wait until both Riske and Seanez fail and with Seanez thats looking like the case but they will see with Riske once he comes off the DL whenever that is.

 

They won't wait long if either of those guys sucks.

 

I say put hansen in the pen in a few weeks and keep him there forever. He has tremendous stuff and obviously is capable of throwing strikes. The sox will need to save every run they can this year, if this offense stays consistent.

[jsinger121]

Hansen is done tonight after 46 pitches, 26 strikes. Final line is 2.1 innings, 0 hits, 2 walks, 2 strike outs, 1 ground ball, 4 fly balls.

[MANNYHOF24]

Hansen is done tonight after 46 pitches, 26 strikes. Final line is 2.1 innings, 0 hits, 2 walks, 2 strike outs, 1 ground ball, 4 fly balls.

 

AAA or AA?

[jsinger121]

AAA or AA?

 

AAA Pawtucket

[hoefdj18]

can we expect to see Hansen at the end of the season in the pen? or is he being groomed to make that jump to the majors next year and the organization doesnt want to rush him? i know he made the jump from AA to AAA just recently, but AAA to the majors is a bigger step. just wondering.

[ksushi]

He might be in the pen sooner if someone is terrible and MDC and Martinez can't fill any holes but he probably will stay in the minors all year.

[jsinger121]

He will be with this team if Seanez fails even more and Riske doesn't do anything when he comes. Hansen is more advanced than both MDC and Big Edgar and I would be shocked if he was kept in the minors all season.

[ksushi]

They will try to keep him in the minors. Martinez and MDC will both get calls before Hansen. If Seanez can't hack it, Hansen is not the first guy in line for his spot.

[jsinger121]

They will try to keep him in the minors. Martinez and MDC will both get calls before Hansen. If Seanez can't hack it, Hansen is not the first guy in line for his spot.

 

MDC already got his call but I would be shocked to see Martinez over Hansen for the fact he is not as polished as Hansen and doesn't have the Major League experience that Hansen already has. Granted its a small size but Big Edgar doesn't have that much experience as a pitcher yet and needs some more seasoning.

[ksushi]

Doesn't matter. He has great raw tools as a pitcher and will definetly get a look this year if the bullpen falters. Hansen just isn't first in line. You don't bring a guy like Hansen up in a hurry because he needs to become more polished. Edgar is 24, he is experienced as a catcher so he knows how to pitch since he has been on the other end of it and he has an explosive fastball and slider. He has impressed in the minors and will get the call. Hansen needs to stay down because he is special. He has the chance to be a dominant pitcher so letting him work in and out of jams for awhile in AAA will help him out in the long run. Don't get too excited just because he is in AAA now, he had too much success in AA and really just wasn't allowing base runners. Now in AAA he should hit a couple bumps in the road every now and then and they will keep him there probably all year unless someone besides Seanez really blows up.

[a700hitter]

can we expect to see Hansen at the end of the season in the pen? or is he being groomed to make that jump to the majors next year and the organization doesnt want to rush him? i know he made the jump from AA to AAA just recently, but AAA to the majors is a bigger step. just wondering.

He'll be at Fenway sooner than later.

[jsinger121]

Hansen pitched tonight against Syracuse

 

2.1 inning, 4 hits, 5 runs, 3 of them earned, 1 walk, 1 k

[bogofree]

Get thee another pitch! Yes, he can "bring it, " but this is the next road to the bigs and even those guys can catch up to heat eventually. This guy has a world of potential and appears to be cold hearted enough not to let the "ups" get him too elated and the "downs" get him too delated. A work in progress, but the finished product, either late 2006 or in 2007, will be something to behold.

[CrespoBlows]

His other pitch is a 90 mph slider.

[ksushi]

Uhh, Hansen had the best breaking ball in the 2005 draft... why does everyone think he needs more pitches? Is that trendy to say? He got hit once probably because he is used to blowing away AA hitters while playing with them like peter gammons described.

[jsinger121]

Right now Hansen has 2 very good pitches in his high 90's fastball to go along with his high 80's/low 90's slider. His changeup is developing but is not considered an out pitch yet.

[ksushi]

Hansen might be joining the rotation. If he can get a feel for that change up he could be just as good a starter as we all thought he would be as a closer. Papelbon might not be warming Hansens seat. He might be the closer permanently.

[jsinger121]

Hansen last year did start one game for St. Johns against Oregon State in the Super Regionals.

[ksushi]

Well apparently he is gonna get some more of those under his belt. I for one don't think it is a bad idea at all.

[Cityofchampions33]

Sean McAdam reported this morning in the Providence Journal that the Red Sox have discussed using Craig Hansen as a starter if David Wells doesn't come back from his knee problems because Jon Lester isn't ready and they cannot find a suitable fifth starter on the market.

The story is right. It's been discussed, as he stated. But that set off the day's talk-radio theory that the Red Sox all along planned to make Hansen a starter once Jonathan Papelbon moved into the role of the closer because they were using Hansen in Double-A in three-inning stints instead of a closer role.

 

Which, of course is silly. "We want Craig to develop all his pitches," said Theo Epstein when Hansen went to Portland. "He knows how to close.I'm not worried about that. But in the major leagues, you can't get by throwing one pitch, as he found out last September against the Orioles. We want him learning to use his pitches, develop his sinker, his slider and his changeup, so that when he gets to the major leagues he can pitch."

 

Can anyone get the rest of this article? I'd be inetrested in readig it.

[ksushi]

This is great. I like this idea. This, to me, is the only way I don't keep him in the minors. I think this is worth it. I still think he needs to stay down until july-ish, but this is a worthy cause.